Dish DBS Corp launched a new company called AirTV at CES and it introduced a streaming media player called AirTV Player. The $99 device is based on Android TV and optimized for Sling TV. Users can also buy an over-the-air (OTA) tuner USB stick to plug into the player. This adds local TV stations to the Sling TV guide.

Tablo TV also introduced an OTA tuner stick called Tablo Live for $99. It works a little differently to the AirTV adapter. A user still needs to attach an antenna, but Tablo Live streams the TV channels it can receive live over the users WIFI network to connected devices in the home.

Nielsen released its Q3 2016 Total Audience report, and it reveals big growth in OTA usage. The number of people watching local broadcast channels without a pay TV subscription increased 3M between Q3 2013 and Q3 2016. However, all of the increase was from consumers that also have broadband. The number of OTA viewers without broadband remained the same, at 6M, over the same period.

All of this activity adds up to stronger growth in OTA usage this year over 2016. However, local channel will just be part of the entertainment package people use. They will also leverage services like Netflix, Sling TV, and Crackle to create their own personal, a la carte video entertainment package.